“She won’t relinquish her hold on them,” Leopold said from his position by the mantelpiece. “She hasn’t allowed Lex or me into the Undercity for decades. Only a handful of the rogue Shedim ever venture out.”
“The Undercity?” Azren asked.
“It’s where the rogues have been residing,” Noir said. “At least that’s what Lex told me. Apparently it’s a city under this city. It’s just another tear in the fabric of our reality, a merger with another world. But Lex hasn’t been permitted access for over two decades.”
“Around the same time she handed me to him?”
Leopold nodded. “Unless you give her what she wants, an assurance of your intention to wipe the Draconi from this earth, she won’t give you access to her army.”
“We don’t have time to fight her,” Valance said. “We have less than three days. We need help, and we need it now.”
Noir headed for the door. “It’s time the Arcana Institute did what they promised to do. Protect the city. We have the resources; we have the manpower. It’s time for them to stop sitting on the fence and take action against Elora.”
He was right. “The treaty won’t matter in three days. Nothing will, but they have Others, powerful Others at the facility. In fact, all the Others who made it into Arcana are powerful; they wouldn’t have made it through the breach otherwise. If we can get Lex to recruit his Petting Zoo employees, and the Institute to allow us to recruit from the facility, then we may just be able to do this.”
“An army,” Taylem said. He pulled himself up. “The troll bloods will fight too.”
“Even after you left the knell?” Quinn asked.
“They’ll fight for the city, not for me,” Taylem said. “The knell doesn’t come into it, and even if it does, the knell needs this as much as we do. If the troll bloods’ minds are taken over, they lose their source of power.”
“And you have me,” Quinn said with a wink.
Noir nodded. ”I’ll speak to the Institute now.” He fragmented but reappeared a split second later. “What the ...” He fragmented again, and once again, he reappeared.
“Um, Noir.” Quin winced. “You’re still here, mate.”
Noir pulled out his phone and dialed before hitting a button and placing the phone on the coffee table. The sound of ringing was followed by a soft click.
“Noir.”
“Malcolm, what’s going on? I can’t get into the Institute,” Noir said.
“Yes,” Malcolm replied. “We’ve activated the alpha wards.”
Noir stared at the phone for a long beat. “You can’t do that.”
“I assure you I can. Kelter is gone, along with his essential personnel. Your intelligence was correct, and we’re acting accordingly. We thank you for your service and we hope to see you on the other side.”
“You can’t do this.”
“Yes, I can. We must protect the Arcana from Elora’s manipulations. The alpha wards will do that.”
“And what about the rest of Arcana?” Noir asked.
There was silence. A silence that spoke a thousand words.
“If you leave them to Elora then she’ll have an army to use against you. That makes no sense, it ...” His eyes widened. “Unless ... You have no intention of leaving Arcana civilians to Elora, do you?”
“Noir, you must understand that if we allow her the upper hand then the rest of the world is also at stake.”
I looked from Noir to the phone and then back again. “What’s he talking about? What is he about to do?”
“Ah, speakerphone,” Malcolm said. “Hello, Miss Bastion. May I say well done on your victory, although you would have served us all best by ending Elora while you had the chance.”
“Yeah, hindsight is a bitch, and you’re acting like one by hiding away. We need your help to stop this. We need an army. We need the Others you have locked away at the OIO facility.”
Once again there was an ominous silence.
“They won’t give us the Others, Wila,” Noir said, his tone bitter. “They’re going to use them to activate the treaty.”
Ice pricked across my skin. “What? No, you can’t do that. You’ll be wiping out half of Arcana City along with Elora and thousands of innocent Draconi and Shedim.”
“Sacrifices must be made for the greater good,” Malcolm said.
“Yeah, as long as it’s not your Arcana arse on the line,” Quinn said.
I was too angry to speak. Blood pounded in my ears, and my hands were suddenly superhot.
“How long?” Noir asked. “How long until you activate the treaty?”
Wasn’t he going to try talking him out of it? No. Because Noir knew Malcolm, he knew there was no talking him out of anything. Oh, shit.
Malcolm sighed. “Twenty-four hours.”
“Long enough to get all essential personnel into the Institute.” Noir nodded slowly.
“We can send a car for you, Noir,” Malcolm said.
Noir snorted. “If you think I’m going to hide out behind wards while you destroy the city then you don’t know me at all. Give us till sundown, three days—Saturday, the night of the full moon. Give us until then.”
“Why would we hold off longer than we need to?” Malcolm asked.
“Because Elora can’t amplify her key until the moon is up,” Azren said. “And we can stop her before then.”
“Malcolm, you know me,” Noir said. “You know I’ve never let you down, and I don’t intend to start now.”
His sigh of resignation drifted down the phone. “Very well. You have until sundown on Saturday. Good luck.” The call ended with a click.
Taylem cursed under his breath, his hands fists at his sides. “I’ll start recruiting.” He grabbed his jacket off the back of the sofa and leaned down to press a kiss to my head. “I’ll be back soon.”
He strode out of the lounge and the front door slammed behind him.
All eyes were on me now because there was only one thing left to do. Only one person who could possibly help us, the last person I wanted to see, and the only one with the army that could accomplish what we needed.
Seb, who’d remained silent and watchful until now, pushed off the wall and walked into the room to stand beside Noir.
“Noir, can you please speak to Lex about the Others. It’s time Wila and I pay Liana a visit.”
Azren stood up. “I’m coming with you.”
There was a little color in his cheeks now, but he was still unsteady on his feet.
I pressed a hand to his chest. “You need to rest. We’re going to need you at full strength.”
I’d only just got him back. We hadn’t even had a chance to connect, to just ... hold one another, and there would be no time, not until this was over. My fingers curled against his chest, and I tilted my chin to look up into his face. “Don’t fight me on this.”
He met my gaze with a determined one of his own. “These are my people, Wila, and because of me, Elora has the key. I’m coming with you.”
He blamed himself? How could he even think any of this was his fault. “This is not your fault. She did this to you. She used you.”
He turned away, his eyes closing briefly, nostrils flaring as he battled to maintain his composure, and a hand fisted my heart.
“We could use you,” Seb said bluntly.
I shot him an incredulous look, but he studiously ignored me. “You’re Shedim, and you’ve been by Elora’s side, you’ve seen what is to come with your own eyes. If we can get to them, they may not listen to us, but they’ll listen to you.”
God, I hated that he had a point. “Fine. Let’s get this done.”
“Daria and I will work together to draw a map of the Keep,” Valance said. “If she has the key then there are limited places she could hide it.”
So, we had a plan of action. Now all we needed was an army.
Noir placed a hand on Azren’s shoulder and slid his other arm around my waist. “See you there, Seb?”
Seb smiled
. “Last one there is a—” He winked out.
With a surprised laugh, Noir fragmented, taking us with him.
***
Lex turned away from Seb to face us as we materialized in his office. He looked disheveled today, shirt untucked, top two buttons undone, hair tousled, and tats on display, inky lines entwined in an intricate pattern that leaked across his collarbones and caressed the base of his throat.
He caught me staring, and his lips quirked in a small, intimate smile. I tore my gaze away and fixed it on his face.
“Miss Bastion.” He inclined his head. “I was just explaining to your ether-kindred that the Others are not warriors, they aren’t fighters. They came here to escape the violence inflicted on them by the Shedim and the Draconi.”
I stepped out of Noir’s arms. “There won’t be any safe place for them if they don’t fight with us now, and the fact they made it here alive means they’re survivors. They’ll want to do this.”
“Which is what I just told him.” Seb glared at Lex as if willing him to combust.
Had he picked up on my ambivalence toward the neph? Even though Lex had explained about the Veritas Order and how he was one of the good guys, there was something about him that put me on alert. Like he was hiding something ... something inside.
“I do love a woman with good eye contact,” Lex said. “But if you’re done trying to peer into my soul, maybe we can focus on the reason for your visit?” He picked a pen up off his desk and twirled it between his fingers like a miniature baton. “I realize our predicament, and I will speak to the Others on your behalf, and maybe a handful will volunteer for your army, but it won’t be enough. And that is my point.”
I gave him a tight smile. “That’s why I need you to take me to Liana.”
He stopped twirling the pen. His brows shot up in surprise. “She won’t allow you to speak to them, not while you maintain your stance on equality between the races.”
I slipped my hand into Azren’s. “Why don’t you leave that up to us to take care of?”
Okay, so I had no plan, but winging it had always been my thing in the past, and it had served me well.
Azren’s fingers tightened around mine. “These are our people. If we can get past Liana, then we can convince them to join us. I’m sure of it.”
“Just summon Liana, Lex,” Noir said.
Lex dropped the pen on the desk. “Very well, follow me.”
***
The tiny room I’d been healed in when returning from the Everdark was lit by a single lamp. Shadows clawed at the walls, and the dark wooden door leading out into the Undercity beyond glared at us ominously.
Sebastian stepped up to the door and placed a hand on it. Sparks spat at him and he pulled back. “This is powerful Arcane magic.” He stepped away, his hands curling into fists, but not before I caught the slight tremor in his fingers. “I recognize it well.”
Darkness seeped into my mind—his darkness, his fear and sorrow. Was this the magic they’d used to lock him up and keep him chained?
He turned away from the door, his face impassive. “There will be no getting through that door. Not without whatever countermeasure Liana has cooked up.”
“You’re correct,” Lex said. “Liana has marked only a select number of Shedim. They can pass back and forth freely. She would have to remove the barrier to let you through.”
He picked up a silver bell sitting on a table by the door and shook it. There was no sound.
“What is that?” Azren asked.
“A communication method,” Lex said. “I ring it here, and Liana hears it. She’ll be with us shortly.”
Lex hitched up his trousers at the knees and took a seat on the only sofa in the room. He stretched his arms along the back in a pose that was pure nonchalance, except the tightness around his eyes belied his actions.
Azren stepped up behind me, warming me with his heat. I leaned back against him and he wrapped his arms around my waist, fingers splayed over my abdomen. The contact coaxed an ache in my throat, the kind that accompanied the threat of tears, and the memory of his wounds was a searing flash across my mind’s eye. What was that? What had just happened?
The edges of the door glowed and then Liana stepped into the room; she was alone this time, no handmaid by her side. Her body was draped in black—black pants, black skintight, long-sleeved top with a deep V at the neck and a single piece of jewelry, the same emerald pendant she’d been wearing the last time we’d tangled. There was no surprise on her face at the sight of us, although her gaze did drift over my shoulder and linger on Azren for a moment longer than I liked.
“Well done, Wilomena,” she said. “You succeeded in liberating your kindred. I’m proud of you.”
She actually sounded sincere.
“We need the Shedim army,” Azren said, cutting to the chase. “Elora has the key and will amplify its effects in less than three days. The Institute, however, plans to activate the treaty before that happens. We have till sunset on Saturday to retrieve the key or the whole of the Westside and half of Arcana City will be annihilated.”
She pursed her lips. “Let me get this straight? The Arcana Institute will be activating a bomb of Arcane magic in less than three days. A bomb that will wipe out our enemies completely, a bomb that won’t affect me or my Shedim safe in the Undercity, and you want me to help you stop them?”
The woman was incomprehensible. How could she even ... “Innocent Shedim, Draconi, and neph will be killed.”
“No one is innocent. Everyone has committed some kind of sin.”
“Really? Even the children? Even the babies who are still in their mothers’ wombs? Are they sinners too?” I stepped out of Azren’s arms and walked toward her, reveling in a pang of satisfaction as she took a step back before checking herself. “I will not allow innocent people to be killed because of your prejudices.” I came to a standstill in front of her. “I took on Elora in the Triumph Games, and I had the opportunity to kill her, and fuck knows she deserves to die, but I didn’t, do you know why?”
“Because you wanted your precious kindred back?” she sneered.
“No. Because killing her then, when the spell was still active, would have caused a war. The Draconi would have risen up against us, and the Arcana may have been forced to activate the treaty. I let her live to save the lives of many.” My hand whipped up to grab her throat. “And I will have no qualms about killing you to get the army I need to save them.”
“No.” Seb materialized behind Liana. “Please, allow me.”
Liana began to thrash in my grip. Something flashed silver, a blade, and then she yelped in pain and it clattered to the ground. Seb held her wrist in what was probably a bone-grinding grip if the pallor of her face and the twist of her mouth was any indication, but damn if I was going to feel sorry for her when the dagger on the floor told me she’d been about to stab me.
Any hope that she had maternal feelings for me fled, and my heart hardened to stone. Seb’s expression was murderous, and his body glowed as if unable to contain the power within. A sharp crack filled the air and Liana screamed, sagging in my grip. Seb grinned mirthlessly—he’d just broken her wrist.
Damn.
I let go of Liana, and she doubled up, nursing her wrist and cursing. It would heal in a second, but Seb wasn’t having that—he grasped her other hand, ready to crack bone. Liana, to give her credit, didn’t even flinch as the fresh bone cracked.
Bile climbed up my throat. Was this what we’d been reduced to? Torturers? How did that make us better than Elora?
“Stop. Just stop it.” I turned away, nursing the gaping chasm of despair opening up inside me. “I can’t do this. I won’t be that person.”
“Then walk away and let me finish this,” Seb snapped.
I met Azren’s eyes, and saw my conflict reflected back at me. Lex was stoic on the sofa, and Noir had his hands on his hips, head bowed.
“No.” I turned to face Liana. “I’m not a torturer, and inf
licting unnecessary pain isn’t my thing.”
“Morals suck.” Seb released Liana, his lip curling in derision; whether aimed at her or me, I wasn’t sure.
I gripped Liana’s shoulders and locked gazes with her pale green eyes so like mine. “I can’t believe that I could come from a person who would knowingly allow thousands to be massacred in the name of a century-old grudge. I won’t believe it.”
Liana stared at me blankly. Fuck this shit. I dropped my hands to my sides, done touching her, done trying to connect.
“You loved him,” Azren said. “You loved Ivan, and he was taken from you. You wanted peace, and it was taken from you. You watched your people turn against you. You watched Elora take everything that belonged to you and twist it, and you want revenge. I understand that. I understand it all too well, but we are not murderers. We are noble warriors. We are Shedim. We fight with honor, we die with honor. Elora didn’t take that from us, but by hiding away and letting the Institute wipe everyone out, you will be destroying our legacy. You, Liana, mighty queen of a mighty race, will reduce us to nothing but vengeful cowards. Is that what you truly want?”
She averted her gaze, nursing her wrist even though it was probably healed by now.
Sebastian was silent, although his agitation, his need to do harm, thrummed through me, putting my teeth on edge, leaving me aching to submit to it, to smash and punch and kick.
“Let us have the army,” Azren said softly. “Ride with us. Face Elora and have your revenge. We will go to war to save lives, to provide a distraction and allow us to retrieve the key and save all our people. Yes, lives will be lost, but we can attempt to control how many, we can maim and not kill, we can allow our world another chance.”
She shook her head. “Damn you, how can you say that? How can you be so forgiving to them after everything they put you through?”
“Not them, her. She did this. Her insanity did this, and there is no hope for her.” He ducked his head. “But there is for you.”
Liana let out a bark of bitter laughter. “You with your words. I think I preferred the bone breaking.” But there was no heat in her tone, just a subtle resignation. “You want the army?” She grasped the pendant hanging around her neck and yanked it off. It glowed wicked bright for a moment and then winked out. “Then feel free to go get them.” Her lips twisted sardonically.
Chronicles of Arcana (The complete collection books 1-4) Page 69
